Ghana’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, says the ministry still owes former Black Stars head coaches Charles Akonnor and Milovan Rajevac salary arrears for their time with the senior national team.
Despite making initial payments of $100,000 to each coach after their contract terminations, the full amounts owed are yet to be settled due to financial constraints, Ussif revealed on Wednesday at a press briefing.
“We still owe Milovan [Rajevac],” he confirmed.
“All of C.K and Milovan, once their contract was terminated, we sat with them, negotiated their exit and C.K was paid $100,000 immediately after the negotiation same as Milovan.
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“We still owe both of them and we have a payment scheduled which I will admit we have not followed because of constraints of funds. As and when we get funds, we will be paying the two coaches.
The outstanding salary arrears have led both Rajevac and Akonnor to consider taking the matter to court. They have written to the Ghana Football Association expressing their intent to seek a resolution.
Akonnor’s tenure as head coach of the Black Stars came to an end in September 2021, after leading the team for over a year. He was replaced by Rajevac, who returned for a second stint as coach. However, Rajevac’s second spell was short-lived, as he was also dismissed following Ghana’s disappointing performance at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon. The team suffered a shocking group stage exit, leading to his removal from the position.
Former Premier League manager Chris Hughton is now in charge of the Black Stars, having taken over from Otto Addo.